Alone Together
by winterinmyveins
Summary: Souji's a writer. Yosuke's a musician. They meet on Tumblr after Souji stumbles across one of Yosuke's songs, and things progress from there. Long-distance relationship. Slow build. AU. (Rated for future chapters)
1. Enchanted to Meet You

Looking back on it, Souji never thought he'd be the type to become addicted to some blogging website dedicated to, well, just about anything, actually. Now, he couldn't imagine not being addicted to it. He could post his writing whenever he liked, and even if it didn't get notes, it was nice to have it out there somewhere other than in the long forgotten notebooks lining his bookcase. He could reblog as many cat pictures and videos as he wanted, and he'd gain followers because of their undeniable cuteness. And if he was in the mood to post other things, it wouldn't matter. It was a wonderful way to express yourself, and sometimes your interests would bring you to others far more compatible with your personality than those in the flesh. Not to mention the fact that it was perfect for the far too many sleepless nights that held him captive.

On a particularly off day for the grey-haired male, he'd come home from one of his part-time jobs and curled up in bed with a cup of coffee and his laptop. He wanted to drown out everything, but nothing in his music library was appealing to him at the moment, so Souji set to searching through tags on Tumblr until coming across a particular song title that made him laugh for the first time that day. It couldn't hurt to give it a listen, and it was definitely not a mistake, because the song was wonderful. Light and comical, with an upbeat and catchy tune. And the person singing had a voice so warm and inviting that Souji thought he could listen to it forever.

He clicked on the username and the tag they used for their music and ended up falling asleep halfway through the eleventh song.

When he woke the next morning with a yawn and a stretch, Souji glanced at his still-open laptop. Odd, since he always shut it down at the end of the night and would usually just use his cell to scroll through his dashboard if he couldn't sleep. It only took him a few confused moments to remember the music and a small smile lifted the corners of his lips. Deciding to let the musician know he really enjoyed his work, Souji found the link to the other's askbox and typed out a quick message before shutting down the computer and rushing to shower and grab coffee before heading to another of his jobs.

He checked his inbox on his lunch break, not really expecting anything, but wanting to see if he'd gotten a reply from the artist. Turns out they had in fact replied and Souji found himself hiding a smile behind his hand as his eyes scanned over the words a few times.

**||| infinite-headphones answered you:**

**|||||| the-cats-meow **asked: _Hello. I just dropped in to say that I really enjoy your music. I stumbled across it last night and it actually made my night a whole lot better. Thank you for your hard work, and I hope to continue hearing more of your wonderful voice._

||| ah really? wow dude thanks! i'm surprised bc not a lot of ppl like my stuff usually. oh but i don't think my voice is all that good but if it made your night better then i'm pretty glad. don't need to thank me though. i hope you're doing better today!

The fact that the person behind the music seemed to be very kind and optimistic even out of song appealed even more to the writer. Souji swiftly - or as swiftly as his phone's internet would allow - sent another ask before returning for the second half of his shift.

His thoughts were filled with this stranger, wondering if maybe they'd be able to converse more and possibly even become friends. Sure, he'd only just come across this person the previous night, but there was something that drew him in more quickly than he would usually allow. Most of the friends Souji had made from middle school up until now weren't really what you would call friends at all. The majority of them only wanted him around to better their grades. Other than that, he'd been an outcast. Made fun of for his choice of hairstyle and the way he alienated himself within the confines of a book or his writing.

Once he had graduated from high school and moved into an apartment of his own, attending university and holding onto multiple part-time jobs, he didn't really have time for friends. Or that's what he told himself at least. It was more that there wasn't anyone who struck his interest here, and Souji didn't exactly put himself out there when it came to the other students or his coworkers. Really, it was alright this way. He'd always done just fine on his own, with his parents always away due to work and only seeing them three times a year if he was lucky. But he'd been taken care of. Always had a roof over his head and clothes on his back and food in his stomach. But it was lonely. Unbearably so. And Souji had developed a nasty case of depression from the combination of it all.

These days, he was handling things better. Probably. Maybe. He wasn't sure most days, but he kept too busy to really think about it all that much. It was better that way. So when he listened to this person's music and it lifted all those thoughts Souji had kept at bay during the day and cleared his mind - even making him smile a bit in the process - it was somewhat alarming. For the longest time, reading and writing had been the only thing that had even remotely had the same effect.

Shaking his head slightly, Souji moved to the back to clock out for the night. He was probably just overthinking everything. It was just music, right? But, no, he didn't believe that. Songs were just another way to tell a story, and they were no small deal. Especially when there were people out there who put their heart and soul into whatever they were singing about. They were admirable, just like this musician he'd only came across by accident. And there was something about that voice and his lyrics that seeped their way into Souji's heart. How were you supposed to ignore something like that?

When he checked his phone again and saw another reply from infinite-headphones and another smile sneaked its way onto his features, Souji knew that he would try to keep a hold of whatever this was.


	2. This Could Be the Start of Something New

It's funny how something that had started out as nothing more than leaving a kind message to some stranger on the internet regarding Souji's love for their music could escalate so quickly. One message became five to ten messages a day. By the end of a month's time, names and skypes had been exchanged and the two had pretty much succumbed to constantly IMing each other. They talked about nearly everything, ranging from their tastes in music and books and television, to how their respective days went and what they were currently studying and where they wanted to go in life.

Honestly, it actually scared Souji, how close he was getting to Yosuke - whose name sounded so familiar and warm, for some reason. His entire life has been spent trying not to form attachments to anyone. It wasn't as though he had very good role models around to show him that the kind of mindset the silver haired man had developed wasn't how it should be. His parent's weren't the type to show affection nor did they spend time together very often. Their work had always been more important, and Souji had simply accepted that early on and learned to take care of himself. And he thought the best way to do that was to close himself off from everyone else, so that no one could ever hurt him the way his own mother and father had countless times in his childhood.

And now, without his permission, this musician was beginning to worm his way through the stone walls he'd placed around his heart. Like it was the easiest thing in the world. Like it had been done a hundred times before. There was this intense urge to push Yosuke away because sooner or later, he was going to find out all the worst things about Souji - all of his demons and darkness - and then he wasn't going to want anything to do with him. It's only been four months since they'd met and he already knew it was going to hurt when the other left.

That realisation is what's caused Yu to keep his skype availability to invisible and not post or reblog anything on tumblr for the past week and a half.

| Tuesday, August 5, 2014|  
**yos_hana94**  
ok, it's been like 3 days now, and no sign of you. are you ok? _(3:28pm)_

| Friday, August 8, 2014 |  
**yos_hana94**  
srsly man, what's going on? _(9:16pm)_  
did i do something? i know i can be annoying and stuff. _(9:20pm)_  
im really sorry. _(9:55pm)_

| Sunday, August 10, 2014 |  
**yos_hana94**  
i'm sorry to keep buggin you, but i just wanted to say that whenever you come back, i'll be here. _(3:59am)_  
if you want. _(4:00am)_  
er ... i'll leave you alone now. (4:03am)

Every muscle in his body was aching to reply to the brunet. All he wanted was to jump back into that comfortable rhythm he'd set with the other. But how was he supposed to go about explaining what had kept him away? Wouldn't it be too late by now? The last skype message from Yosuke was dated from four days ago, and he hadn't received a tumblr message for even longer than that. He'd stated he'd be there whenever Souji came back, but what if he was just saying that in the heat of the moment. What if he'd angered or upset the musician to the point where he wanted nothing to do with him? What if he's done the pushing away, instead of the other person leaving this time?

Too many thoughts were racing around in his brain as he held his head in his hands, eyes squeezed almost painfully shut. No one had ever tried so hard to keep in contact with the writer. Letting out a slow breath, Souji straightened up, fingers splayed over the keyboard.

| Thursday, August 14, 2014 |  
**narucatmi_yu**  
I'm sorry for just disappearing like that. I ... I got scared. I know that sounds like an excuse, but I promise it's the truth. I've never really been close to anyone before, and, well, with you it's so easy. I spooked myself into thinking that you were going to leave just like everyone else in my life has, and if that were to happen, I knew that it would be very painful for me_. (1:12am)_  
And now, I wouldn't blame you if you wanted nothing further to do with me. It was a very poor move on my part, and I am not proud whatsoever of my actions. I shouldn't have ignored you. It was very selfish of me. You have done nothing wrong, though, I want you to know that. I don't find you annoying or anything of the sort. I actually think you're quite wonderful and hilarious and smarter and better than you give yourself credit for. I'm really sorry, Yosuke. _(1:15am)_

Okay. He did it. That wasn't so bad. No, that's a lie. His hands were shaking as Souji stood to get a glass of water, hoping it'd calm his nerves. When he returned, skype was notifying him of a new message. And instantly, every negative feeling drained from his being and a small smile lifted his worried lips and a bought of laughter slipped past them.

**yos_hana94**  
you big idiot. _(1:20am)_  
that's srsly what you've been all worked up about? _(1:20am)_  
i'm not going anywhere, so you have nothing to worry about. _(1:21am)_  
as if i could ever leave you, partner. _(1:21am)_  
um i mean i don't know where that came from. was that too weird? that was weird right? god i'm the idiot forget i said anything wow i'm going to go and throw myself in a trash can or something _(1:22am)_

**narucatmi_yu**  
Partner, huh? I like that. (1:28am)  
Thank you, Yosuke. Thank you so much. (1:28am)


End file.
